Because It's Her
by Kouhou Mei
Summary: Mayaka tells Satoshi of her fear. May contain spoiler for episode 7. One-shot. Not quite romance, but it's a SatoMaya moment. Reviews appreciated. Work in progress.


**Author's Notes:** Here's a Satoshi x Mayaka fic for you~

It's more of a friendship sort of story and will gradually turn into a romance as Hyouka progresses. Maybe.

Includes spoiler for episode 7.

This is my first fiction, so... I hope you enjoy it!

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Sitting quietly behind the library counter, Mayaka Ibara gets lost in thought as her eyes lose focus. Itoigawa-sensei, the librarian, was in the other room meeting with another teacher, which left Mayaka in charge of the counter. She stared blankly at no one in particular, and was rather comfortable in her current position. She breathes rhythmically and her eyes are distant, not blinking as she recalls the night a week before. The night when she had supposedly seen a man being hanged in the room in the east wing of the onsen.

Although it was simply a kimono being hung up to dry- according to Oreki- the image was engraved into her mind. She just could not forget about it. The figure swaying about had mentally scarred her, and since she hadn't had much experience with supernaturals, it was very memorable. She saw it around the middle of the night, for goodness sake. How could she not forget? She could see it now. The shadow, eerily swinging slowly and subtly. It's sleeves dangling lifelessly, and the noose hanging from its he-

"Mayaka!"

Mayaka flinched slightly as she was snapped back to reality. Which was good; the shadow in her mind was becoming all too life-like. She turned her head slightly to see the one who had brought her back from her trance-like state. She huffed quietly at the sight of her crush since middle school, who was leaning slightly forward on the counter. He had on a smile, but his eyes were scrunched up. Whether it was out of curiosity or worry, it didn't matter. Mayaka had to say something.

"What is it, Fuku-chan?" Mayaka said in her usual manner. Her eyes were narrowed, and her arms were crossed. Just the way she usually appeared. But Mayaka treats Satoshi differently. She's still her strict self with him, but her demeanor and attitude is slightly more flexible. But, it doesn't change the fact that she can be the most sarcastic and angry person on Earth if he does something to irritate her.

Satoshi Fukube straightened himself and brought his head up slightly. He held his signature bag in his hand, which was dangling behind his back. His smile was still on his face, but it was rare that his smile was not on his face at all. There were moments when he couldn't hide himself with a smile, but most of the time, it was there. "Are you okay?" He asked the girl. "You looked a little lost there. I've been saying your name, but you didn't say anything."

Mayaka looked at the smiling boy with her eyes slightly wide before turning away from him. "I'm fine." She replied to him in a pout. A very small blush was evident as she realized what he had said. He had been saying her name, and she didn't notice at all. Exactly how much was that shadow going to haunt her? It was to the extent that she couldn't even hear her own name. Embarrassing. "Is there something you need?" She said while shifting her eyes to meet his.

"Well, I just needed to tell you something that I heard from Houtarou." Satoshi answered, his smile turning into a playful grin. Mayaka's eyes narrowed further.

"What's with the smile?"

"Hehe, something. I'll tell you. But first," Satoshi leaned over the counter to get closer to Mayaka, "what's on your mind?" His hazel-colored eyes were fixed on her pinkish ones, and they silently beckoned her to speak. In some way, his eyes reminded Mayaka of Chitanda's. They pulled her in, and Mayaka could feel herself wanting to tell him everything. But but she had her pride to worry about!

"I already told you, I'm fine." The words were a bit forced, and Satoshi knew it. Her eyes averted away from his when she spoke, which clearly said to him that she was not fine.

"Come now, you can tell me." Satoshi insisted. Mayaka let out an annoyed sigh and kept quiet. Satoshi's smile widened and he leaned his head so then his cheek rested on his hand. "I'll just sit here until you tell me."

With that, Mayaka sighed again, and relented. Knowing him, he probably wasn't going to leave for real. She looked back to him, and sighed again. "Alright, I get it, I'll tell you." The triumphant smile on Satoshi's face mad her regret her decision greatly. But this was Fuku-chan. She could trust him.

The library was quiet, but it was quite full. There were at least two people seated at each table, all of them engrossed in their books. The quiet atmosphere made it difficult for Mayaka to voice out her thoughts. She doesn't want others to hear about it. Even if she whispered, the library was far too quiet to make her voice unheard. Her mouth was pulled into a straight line and she looked helplessly around her. She can't just abandon her spot and get in trouble for the sake of privacy. She sighed, utterly defeated.

"I'm... Just a little bugged about last week's trip." She let out. Her voice was no louder than a whisper, but in the library, she might as well have used a bullhorn. Satoshi nodded encouragingly. "On the first night, I woke up and saw a figure that looked like a man who was hanged from the window in my room." Her gaze was averted to the floor. Feelings of embarrassment and fear were shown by her face which grew slightly paler, yet her ears were reddening. "You know how we were listening to that scary story about the guest? Well, after seeing the shadow, I've gotten a bit bothered by it ever since."

"But it was just a kimono." Satoshi pointed out.

"Yes, I know!" Mayaka whispered loudly. "I know, but still. It just keeps haunting me, and I've been spacing out because of it. I tell myself over and over that it wasn't a corpse, but the image is still scary.." the corners of her mouth were turned down, and her eyes furrowed at the thought. The picture in her mind was becoming more realistic.. She can't shake it off her mind..!

Right then, Mayaka felt a hand on her head. She blinked twice, then looked up from the floor to the owner of that hand. Satoshi had on a gentle smile, and barely, just barely, a small blush was on his cheeks. So this was it, huh? He thought. Satoshi ruffled Mayaka's hair and said, "It's just a kimono. Don't worry, you'll forget soon." Removing his hand, he added, "I've seen Mayaka scarier than that."

Mayaka scoffed angrily, despite the blush that was clear on her own cheeks from embarrassment. Her scared expression was replaced with her narrowed eyes and crossed arms. "Oh yes, as if me being scary were all my fault. Do you remember why I act 'scary'? It's because I have to lecture a certain somebody about everything!" She whispered, but the message's harshness and sarcasm was clearly there. Satoshi held up his hands defensively and laughed.

"Yes, yes, I know. Well, if that's all that's bothering you, I'm sure you'll get over it in no time." Satoshi brought his hands to behind his head and closed one eye. "You're Mayaka, after all. Well, I'll see you later!" Satoshi raised a hand for a goodbye and started for the door. Mayaka humphed and looked away. What did he mean by that? She wondered. She was about to humph again when she suddenly remembered.

She whipped her head around to look at Satoshi and called, "Ah, Fuku-chan! What was it that you needed to tell me?" As she asked that, another thought bubbled up. How did Satoshi know about the figure being a kimono? They didn't tell him about the little mystery, right? He was asleep and wasn't there when Oreki, Chitanda and she was discussing it. So how..?

Satoshi turned around and grinned. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. Houtarou told me about the whole investigation at the inn." He smiled wider. "He told me quite a lot. You know, I'm happy you told me about what was bothering you."

Mayaka raised an eyebrow. Oh, so Oreki told him. Her face had on a questioning expression. He wasn't going to tease her, was he? "Why?" She asked cautiously.

If you looked closely, you could see Satoshi's cheek turn a shade pinker. "Because I got to see Mayaka look scared." You were cute. He added in his mind. But Mayaka could tell what he was thinking from his shy smile. She was left speechless as Satoshi saluted and left the library.

Mayaka blinked. How was she supposed to take that?! Was that a good thing? Is it possible... That he thought she was cute?! Mayaka faced forward, her face turning red at the thought of being found adorable.

_... Nah._

She sighed but smiled afterwards. She brought her hand to the top of her head.

Her hair is messy.

**_End._**

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**Author's Notes:** And that's the end of this one-shot. I might add more, but who knows? Excuse my spelling and grammar mistakes, if any. Reviews are much appreciated!


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